Glow
by lostmidtranslation
Summary: In the Aftermath of the War, Fire Burns, and Katie and Fred Glow. Fratie Romance.


**Disclaimer: Do I look rich? **_**No**_**. Do I look imaginative? **_**Not this imaginative**_**. Do I own these characters? No. I'm NOT JK ROWLING!!! I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER…. But I like pretending and messing around with them all… **

**Fratie romance - That's Fred and Katie. Because they don't get enough love, it's summer and when I went to see Vagabond, I had glowsticks. It was a right rave-up. Thank you, enjoy, and REVIEW!**

**-x-x-x-x-**

_**George**_

_Katie Bell really didn't like the dark. _I learned that much about three days after she'd moved in with Fred and me, two weeks after the war had ended and we had finally assessed the damage of the battle. We had offered her one of our spare rooms - she had graciously accepted, become the one person who we trusted with everything we had and who repaid us with the same thing.

A few days into our arrangement, I found her sleeping on the sofa, the small reading light on in the corner, just above her head. She later claimed she preferred the sofa, because apparently, there was more light in the living room. _It kept out everything dark. _

I felt awful for her - she was often shattered in the mornings and I was sure that she often couldn't sleep, although even when her eyes were red, and her face was pale, she was always smiling and never let on she was uncomfortable.

"George?" She asked me one morning, four months after she had moved in, when I had knocked softly on her bedroom door holding a coffee for her, found she was missing and strode to the living room, finding her on the sofa, sleeping soundly, "Do you ever come and check on me in the night?"

I frowned slightly and looked at her, stunned by her question and not one hundred percent sure how to answer her. I mean yes, when we had been on the run and in hiding, I had indeed checked on her in the night, but not since the war had ended. Not since the war was over and we had found stability. Not since Fred had taken it upon himself to fall in love with her.

"Not recently, why, Katie?"

"Oh," She smiled lightly and looked over at the doorway, "I'll have to ask him when he gets up. Scared me royally last night." she smiled, "Shadows and bright eyes and everything."

Fred had been working late on something new and secret, recently, wouldn't even tell me what it was, and I was terrified it was something dangerous, but hey, I trusted my brother. He wouldn't kill me… I hoped.

"-for dinner?" I only caught the end of her sentence, lost in my own private world until the mention of Fratricide had reared its ugly head.

"Sorry?"

"I said, do you know what you want for dinner?" She had been cooking for us since we let her move in. We were looking after her, letting her live rent free, and she was cooking for us, doing some chores and accounting work in return. It was a simple arrangement, but it was good.

"It's okay; I've got a date tonight - with Ange." I said, only just remembering the fact myself. She nodded.

"I'll do something for me and Fred then." She smiled, "Oh, will you want me to sleep in my room tonight, then?" She said, and even though I could hear the hesitation in her voice, I nodded right back.

"Would you mind? I don't know what time we'll be back, and I'd love her to-"

"It's your flat, George." She smiled lightly and I felt so bad already. "Although I'll be leaving my wand on all night-"

"Why don't you put a fire in the grate?" I returned easily. She swallowed nervously and shook her head.

"_Fire Burns." _She mumbled hoarsely back at me.

Fire did indeed, burn.

I should have thought before I had spoken then, because back, during the battle, she had been wounded by dark fire, and her body bore the scars of such evil magic, twisting like a horrifically beautiful corset around her torso and blossoming up by her neck in a raw weal that refused to stop shining back and drawing the eye of every witch or wizard she met.

Looking at her terrified face, I knew that even though I wasn't sure what Fred was doing, I had a feeling it had something, if not everything to do with her.

After watching them interact during the course of the war - as Katie had helped Lee Jordan master Wizarding Radio Piracy and Fred had sat with his arms around her shoulders or sat with his arms wrapped around his knees, watching her intensely. As he had done his utmost to irritate and annoy her while we were in hiding, then, when the nights drew in, and Ron joined us, when there were no more beds and one of us had had to move on to the sofa of the cold, abandoned cottage, (Katie had volunteered), and I had got up to check and see if she was alright… Having freaked out that she was missing from the living room and gone to Fred for help, I had found her lying beside him in his bedroom, using his chest as her pillow, his arms wrapped around her protectively, and her hand in a probably inappropriate place.

Fred claimed amnesia at the mere mention of all of these events, and I had come to the conclusion, by sticking the adoration contained in these moments together, I reckoned he had definitely, definitely fallen in love with her. And she loved him.

"Where are you going tonight, then, George?"

"Muggle film, then back here, I suppose," I returned without thinking.

"Would you like me to stick something in the fridge so you can heat it up later?" She smiled and I reckoned she was turning into my mother, always trying to make me eat.

"Erh, yeah, I guess so… would you?"

"'Course," She grinned again and sipped her coffee, deep in thought, "Pasta alright?" She asked after a few moments silence.

"Yeah, no problems." I grinned back at her and got up. "Hope you don't mind - we've got a ton of inventory to do today, I'm gonna go and send out all the order-by-owls now, so we can get to work later."

She nodded peacefully and smiled as I rose, hugged her goodbye, conjuring toast as I pulled my jacket on, and left. Only when I'd pressed the key into the front door of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes did I remember what she had to do today. _Fuck._

_**-Fred-**_

I slept in this morning for two reasons. One, I was fucking knackered from last night. I had sat watching Katie for a full half an hour past three in the morning, when I'd heard her whimpering and groaning in her sleep. The other reason was also concerned with Katie, but this time, it was all about catching her awake. _Without_ George in the near vicinity.

At about nine, when I was pulling on a fresh shirt after showering and lying on my covers for a long while staring up at the ceiling, there was a knock at my bedroom door, and Katie pushed it open with just a moment's hesitation, holding a cup of coffee out to me.

"Morning, Fred." She set the mug on my bedside table and sat down on my bed. "I've got the breakfast going for you," She paused and grinned, "I'll have to bolt though." Her smile faltered slightly, "I'm in court at eleven."

Malfoy was being tried for attempted murder, finally, and Katie was on the stand. The slimy, Slytherin bugger was finally going to get put away for fucking with my girl. _My girl. _I wanted to be able to call her that.

"Good luck, Katie." I smiled softly at her, and the remnants of her smile fell off her face, then she swallowed loudly before flinging her arms around my neck and sobbing, hard. "Wh-what is it?"

"I'm j-j-just afraid, Fred…" I very slowly brought my hand up and rubbed her back, trying not to thing about the fact that every time her chest heaved with another wracking sob, her breasts pressed against my chest and her weight shifted quite pleasantly in my lap.

I couldn't help being Fred Weasley. And Fred Weasley saw unresolved sexual tension everywhere Katie Bell could be found.

"You're going to be brilliant." I whispered into her ear, letting my arms settle around her, "I know you Katie. You're so strong, so determined, so…" I sighed when she shook her head against me, "Remember your shield charm? The one you cast that saved me and Perce?"

-x-

_How could anyone forget that?! The wall we had been battling in front of had been exploded by some unseen spell, and in the half second of thought I'd been granted, I was sure we were both dead. There was no way._

_Until Katie's voice had echoed from the top of the grand staircase, over the booming of the collapsing rubble, and a bright light had blinded me slightly. _

"_Protego Maxima!" The physical shield she had conjured was show-stopping. It was so strong that it had formed an opaque silver barrier between the tumbling, fatal rocks and me. The whole hall was staring at us, at her, standing on the top of the steps to the first floor, holding her wand aloft, her beautiful face contorted in concentration and her voice screaming for us to move. _

_**Move. **_

_And then her screams turned incoherent, the air around her seemed to glow and her words were lost, faded into silence as the screaming stopped and the burning began._

_Flames blossomed from Augustus Rookwood's wand, tearing at her torso as she clutched at her clothes, trying to pull them away from her body. Malfoy was standing beside Rookwood, looking pleased as she started to scream, sounds finally returning to her lips._

_**Move.**_

_Her words finally rang through my brain, and I ran forward and without a second thought, I had killed Augustus Rookwood, Ministry Official and Death Eater. Malfoy ran, but my head was spinning. _

_**I had killed for her.**_

_**I would kill for her again.**_

_She was lying there; still, her robes turning to embers as his spell faded, the burns sticking to her skin like ivy. My hands tore at the fabric of her t-shirt as the battle raged around us and nobody noticed our private battle. There was nothing but us, her and me. We were the only two people that mattered as the fighting slowed down, people started to assess the damage, to realise the destruction around us. Her wand was still held aloft, I had to convince her to relinquish it, as I convinced her to calm down, as I tried to pull her out of the shock, it clattered to the floor and with it went the still-suspended shield. _

_The rubble collapsed to the floor and I stared at Katie's bloody, burned, damaged torso. Her skin, over her ribs had taken the brunt of the burns, but she desperately needed healing. _

_I pulled her into my arms and transported her to St. Mungo's. You could apparate in the grounds tonight. McGonagall had made it so. _

_She woke up screaming, burned, but alive. She would have scars forever, both mental and physical, but she was alive. I didn't leave her at all until she could walk without wincing. It took her three days, the scars had healed thanks to the healers in the hospital, she was my girl, and she was strong. _

_-x-_

"I…" She nodded and I gently touched her cheek, wiping away her distraught tears, shushing her as fresh tears began to collapse down her cheeks.

"Hey," I whispered softly when she had calmed enough, and I had led her down to the kitchen, started making breakfast. "I've got a surprise for you." She looked up at me, blotchy and tearstained, "You like to sleep with a light on, right?" _Of course she did. Did you not spend an hour last night looking at her as she slept with the pathetic, tiny reading lamp on over her head? __**Moron**__._

"Anything that glows." She murmured back. Without a word, I produced a small, blue tube from nowhere.

"Know what these are?" I brandished the box.

"Muggle glowsticks." She said, confusion seeping into her expression, "But-"

"Technically, no." I tossed the package to her, and, with her chaser's reactions and a slight grimace of pain, she caught it deftly. "The package, indeed, indicates that the contents are muggle glowsticks. _However._" I grinned widely, "Inside the packaging, you will find five, count them, _five _Everlasting Glowsticks, which, as I've just stated, give a constant, room-lighting glow." She was smiling, mirroring me now. "_Forever_."

"Bu-What? Fred, I-"

"They'll save your energy from your wand, they'll last forever, and Katie…" She looked up at me, still holding the package in her hands, "They're just for you."

"Thank you, Fred." She nodded, smiling slightly. "I honestly…" She rose, wrapped her arms around me, leaned forward and very gently pressed her lips to the tip of my nose. "You're the best." The weight of her words was incredible. I was desperate to be her everything. **The Best **would do. _For now_.

"You'd better get going, Katie." I said softly, after a few minutes of just holding her. "You'll be late, and we can't have that."

"No, we can't." She nodded, leaving the glowsticks on the table.

As she apparated away from the flat, I picked up the glowsticks, took them up to her room and pulled one out of the packet as I sat down on her bed. The stick in my hand was emerald green, her favourite colour, and as I held it in my fingers, I smiled to myself. It was the colour of my eyes, apparently. I wasn't exactly sure, it was what Bill and Ron had told me, but hey, I was blind like that.

I sighed, replaced the green stick, swallowing. She could save that one for when she needed it the most.

I stuck my hand back into the package and pulled another one from the box. This one was blue. This one would let the room cool off, but glow forever. I sighed again and snapped the stick, shook it to send the light spiralling from the tube, illuminating the room as I sat there, smiling.

"You're strong, Katie, but sometimes you need something to help you out." I smiled to myself, before balancing the stick on the shelf above her bed, where it would broadcast the most light in the room. I left, shutting the door with a snap, and apparated to help George with Inventory. Katie would join us later, but I hoped we'd be done by then, be able to relax in Diagon Alley for a while.

About half an hour into the exercise, I decided that at one, I'd go and see if she was done in court. She might need someone to look after her. I knew I could do it.

_**Katie**_

I opened my eyes to find myself standing in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. Percy Weasley was standing in the middle of the room, looking around, concerned. He said he'd meet me here at ten, but it was quarter past. I'd blame Fred as soon as I got the chance to apologise.

"Katie!" Another voice surprised me and I jumped out of my skin as I turned to see Alicia Spinnet standing less than a foot away from me. "Ohmygoshihaventseenyouinaboutthreeyears-"

"Lycia, I saw you last month." I managed to squeak, her arms so tight around me I could barely breathe.

"I know." She said patiently as she released me, "Feels like years though. Your neck's healed well." _It had been four months. Give the magic some credit. _

Alicia had fought in the war but escaped major injury. George and Fred had tried to position Angelina, her and I in the places that were safer, but it hadn't really worked for me or Angie. She had succumbed to stinging hexes and scratches up her arms and legs, and I had basically become… I felt like I'd been melted, destroyed. There was no real way around it.

"So, you're here for the trial?" Alicia was talking but I was only half listening. Percy had spotted me and was making his way around the large groups of people who were milling around the room.

"No, I actually enjoy spending my time standing in the Ministry for fun."

"This is why you'll never get a boyfriend, Katie."

"Nothing to do with the fact that, oh, I don't know, I live with the Weasley twins, I'm not the best looking girl and I'm covered in scars, then, Lycia. Just my biting sense of humour is it?" She sighed and rolled her eyes at me. "Don't look at me like that."

"Well, if you just embraced life a bit-"

"Yeah, alright, I'll do that as soon as-"

"Miss Bell, there you are!" Thank you Merlin, for the existence of Percy Ignatius Weasley. I could have kissed him, just to get out of this horrendous you'll-never-get-laid conversation. "Miss Spinnet, don't you need to get going? That report won't write itself!"

Alicia nodded, trying to avoid Percy's severe gaze, looked around the Atrium, trying to waste time, blushed slightly as she caught… oh god, not _Roger Davies' _eye… and smiled at me, wrapping her arms around me again.

"Well, I'll see you soon, Katie."

"Yeah, maybe you can come to dinner sometime." I nodded. She kissed my cheek and practically skipped off in the direction of the passageway I had seen Roger Davies disappear down.

There was a long moment of silence where Percy looked at me, unsure, I believe, of whether he should offer me a hug or a handshake. We had known each other for more than eight years now, but he was never sure how to respond to my jokes, to respond to the teasing I had fallen so easily into when the twins had introduced me.

"Alright, Perce?" He seemed to have decided, as in that second, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and hugged me close to him. Okay. That was different.

"Katie…" He smiled at me and released me, "Sorry, I probably-" I shook my head and wrapped my arms back around him.

"You're an idiot, Percy."

"I know." He nodded. Ever since he'd come back home and resigned from the ministry, he had been a lot happier, a lot easier to cope with, but still a little socially awkward. "Are you ready for this?"

"I-I suppose." Fred and George had told me to use Percy as my lawyer… well, as my legal representation. They'd called him a genius, and said that even though he was a prat, he was a good hearted prat, and to be honest, he was a lovely bloke.

"Well, you'll be in court in an hour, we're thinking that Leanne's testimony won't take as long as we thought before - Malfoy wasn't exactly denying anything, and I think you'll be able to, how do they put it, get in, get out and -"

"I get you." I nodded, smiling at him, "Listen, Percy, I really don't know how to say thank you for doing this, you've been-"

"You don't have to-"

"But-"

"You saved my life, Katie." He smiled and touched my shoulder lightly. "This is probably the least I could do." He paused, "And you're calming my brother down quite a bit as well. Got to give you your dues on that one."

"Sorry?"

"Fred. He's a lot… more relaxed than before the war. He's finally figured out that he loves you and I think it's because you're closer to him now-"

I looked at him, tilting my head slightly, and he stared back, closing his mouth very quickly, looking down at the shine on my shoes.

"I suppose we'd best get going, Katie." He said after a few minutes of awkward silence. I nodded quickly and followed him to the lifts down to the courtrooms.

-x-

Emerging from the dungeon down there was hell, more because of the tears I'd shed sitting in that seat than anything. The words flew around my head, made my ears hurt, made my head spin. I wanted to scream, and I wanted to cry. Honestly, it was more about the words she'd said, the things _he'd_ admitted than the fact I'd been… taken apart so easily.

"_How much had you had to drink, Miss Bell?" I shuddered as I thought. I knew it was no more than three butterbeers. I wasn't old enough to drink anything else back then. _

"_Just wondering what possessed her to- hm." It was as though she found it funny, "Possessed." _

_She didn't even sound like she was taking it seriously. She was making it sound like a fucking joke. I'd nearly died… and-_

"Katie!" The voice I wanted to hear most in the world rang across the near empty atrium. I ignored it though, determined for him not to see me cry. I'd promised him I'd be strong, and I'd shattered under the slightest bit of pressure. The woman took pleasure in making me cry, I'm sure.

His hands caught me around the waist and span me to face him.

"Katie-" He took one look at my tears and wrapped his arms around me. I buried myself in his arms and he rocked me slightly, "Katie, what…" I shook my head against his chest, never feeling the pain as much as I could now. "Katie, please, swe- dar- _love_, please."

I pulled back from his embrace and swiped violently at my eyes. I felt my bracelet catch on the bridge of my nose, but ignored the scratch that would soon hurt and probably bleed, and…

"Oh, bloody buggerification." I looked up into his emerald-green eyes and felt myself smiling. "You're bleeding, you know." He tugged at his muggle shirt and pulled the cuff of his sleeve down over his wrist, catching it in his hand and rubbing the makeup stains from my cheeks, then switching hands and gently wiping the blood from my nose.

"Ow! Fred, that hurt!" I pulled away and wiped at the bridge of my nose myself. "_Ow_."

"Thought so." He said brightly, and then tilted my chin up so I had to look at him. "Tell me what happened, or I'll do it again."

I shook my head mutely, and he ran his fingertip across the scratch, just to prove he wasn't lying to me. From the blood on his fingertip as he pulled away, I realised I'd actually done some damage to my face, again, and sighed.

"I'll take you home?" He offered lightly. I nodded and he wrapped his arms around me again. "We got the inventory done this morning." He said softly, "George is making dinner."

_But he had a date?! Shit! Don't tell me he was cancelling on Angelina!_

"God, I didn't want to die, Fred. No need to poison me." He laughed loudly, and even though the joke was half-hearted and didn't sound funny, like it had in my head, I laughed with him. As we strode towards the centre of the Atrium, I saw Percy standing at the doors of the lift. He was clearly upset for me; I could see his eyes were glassy even from the corner of the room.

I didn't blame him though. He'd done everything right for me, he'd been such a good person, and then, it had all fallen apart.

"Oi! Perce!" Fred shouted over to his brother and he looked up, wiped his eyes quickly and practically ran over to us. "Alright, bro?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "Listen, Katie, really, I'm sorry-"

"It's alright, Percy." I said, trying to push all the sincerity I felt through my words. He looked at me, tilting his head slightly and nodded. "Honestly."

"You sure?" he raised his hand and squeezed my shoulder, "I-"

"Do you want to come over to dinner tonight?" Even I was astounded at the words spilling from my mouth. "George is out with Angelina, but I'm sure I can supply-"

"Katie, honestly, I would absolutely love to, but I've got a date with Penny-" He smiled slightly and I felt myself smile back at him. "Have a good night, Katie, and I'm genuinely so sorry-"

He hugged me tight and shook Fred's hand, then turned away, leaving Fred staring after him, frowning slightly as he turned to look at me.

"Katie, please, _please_ tell me what happened." He said as he gripped my hand tightly, and I looked at him. I knew he wouldn't stop until I told him, and I knew if I didn't tell him, then, I'd never come to terms with it. Sighing, I nodded and Fred smiled wider at me, his hand tightening on mine.

He twisted, pulling me up against him, and I felt my chest compress against his as I opened my eyes to the darkness of apparition, and then the bright, almost violent colours of Diagon Alley.

_**Fred**_

I almost carried her home. She was still crying softly, unable to meet my eye and refusing to talk. I sat her down at the kitchen table and busied myself with making tea. It was infuriating that she wasn't saying a word, but it was heart-wrenching as well. I was worried about what had happened, but I couldn't help if she didn't tell me.

George was getting ready for his date, Katie had pulled the food he was making out of the Oven and kept shooting it funny looks, unsure of the contents or purpose of it. He left just as the kettle started whistling, kissing Katie on the top of the head and telling her he'd talk to her later. I choked back a growl and tried to remember he was my brother.

I set the tea in front of her, and she pulled it forward, stared down into it. She didn't move, she simply looked into the brown, sugary drink, and I was sure there were tears dripping into it. I watched the ripples for a long minute, then, she looked up at me and sniffed hard.

"D-do you mind if I… if I show you, rather than telling you?" She murmured, catching me off guard.

"If it'll help you, then I'm all for it." I replied, probably too quickly, but I didn't care.

"You've still got that Pensieve, right?"

"The one Bill got us, so we could keep all the recipes for the sweets?" We had never been good at following potions recipes, or writing them down. We just went with guesses, and if it worked… then good.

Katie nodded meekly and I mirrored her actions, then rose and retrieved the bowl.

"You know how to fetch a memory, right?"

She was already holding the memory at the tip of her wand, smiling slightly.

"You're even good at that." I said, "Couldn't let me be the know-it-all for thirty seconds, could you?"

"Nope." She shook her head and smiled at me; flicking the memory like a whip and watching it get sucked into the solution. "I won't join you." She sniffed and sighed. "I think I might go and take a shower."

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit." She rose and I watched her go to leave the kitchen. She stopped at the doorway, murmured something unintelligible and left. I sighed and watched the surface of the Pensieve swirl black and white for a second, then settle into the image of what, I can only assume, was a courtroom.

I took a deep breath and plunged my head into the basin.

-xx-

"_Come on, Katie." I heard her voice, gearing herself up, before I could register where I was. Nobody could see me here, but even so, I felt a little perverted sitting by her feet. I got up, and, knowing I was invisible to the person sitting directly behind her, took a seat on the railing, balancing and trying not to fall off. _

_Third time's the charm there. _

"_Our next witness, Miss Kaitlyn Elizabeth Bell." She rose, and I let my hand trail over her hair as it flew past my vision. She turned quickly to check Percy's reaction; he nodded and offered her an encouraging smile. She swallowed nervously and looked up at the woman. That woman, the one that handled all of Harry's problems a couple of years ago… _

"_Madame Hopkirk." Katie blushed and nodded to the woman. __**Mafalda Hopkirk. **__I could have kicked myself. She knew my dad well. She was quite nice as well - not as nice as Amelia Bones, Merlin rest her soul, but she was alright. _

_When Katie was settled in the chair, looking down at all the chains and locks that adorned it with abject horror, Hopkirk started questioning her. And it wasn't simple, "what's the problem with the world?" Questioning that I had assumed they would use to break her in. This was cruel and just plain despicable._

"_Miss Bell, you have never liked Mr Malfoy, have you?" _

"_I-well…" Katie looked at Percy, her eyes wide with surprise. He moved his shoulders in a strange sort of encouragement. "We were in opposing houses at Hogwarts, Ma'am. He was a Slytherin, and he wasn't the best of friends with my friends. We were on opposing Quidditch teams too, but I've never really interacted with him."_

"_Is it not true that, in your sixth year, you participated in a brawl on the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch which involved you breaking the fourth finger of Mr Malfoy's right hand and one of the bones in his right arm?"_

_She paled and ducked her head._

"_In my defence, Ma'am, I was provoked. He was insulting my best friend's family."_

"_She was indeed provoked." Malfoy's voice rang out across the room. He was attached to his less-than-comfortable chair with chains, and it looked as though he was in pain every time he pulled against them. "I was insulting the Weasley family. It was uncalled for and I must admit I regret it, but..."_

_**Bullshit. **__Malfoy never regretted a thing._

"_Oh, I see." There was some scribbling. "On the day in question, how much had you had to drink, Miss Bell?" I saw her shaking in her seat. Percy's voice jumped through the room. I nearly fell off my bar in surprise._

"_I wonder if it's strictly necessary to ask these questions, Mafalda." There was a pause, "I believe Mr. Malfoy," I was pleased to hear that he spat the Slytherin scum's name, "Is the one on trial here, not Miss Bell." _

"_I was just enquiring as to what possessed her to- huh!" It was as though she found it funny, "Possessed." _

_She didn't even sound like she was taking it seriously. She was making it sound like a fucking joke. I was flat on the floor and shouting at the bitch before I could blink. _

"_Katie could have die-" Nobody heard me - I wasn't there._

"_I was enquiring what may have possessed her to believe she was under the Imperius curse-"_

"_She was under the curse!" Malfoy shouted again. There was a pause where even Katie looked at him, stunned, "Alright? I admit it! I had every intention of killing Dumbledore, and I didn't care if some worthless little mudblood bitch got in my way." _

_Malfoy would be getting some Jinxes-by-post tomorrow._

"_She was pathetic then, she didn't even think somebody could have attacked her in the bathroom. She practically deserved to die." He was red in the face, furious that this was taking so long and Katie was shaking in her seat. "She's got nothing now anyway." _

_Her face went pale, practically translucent, she reached up to her smart-jacket and I swallowed nervously as I realised what she was doing._

"_Ma'am, could I possibly… show Mr Malfoy something?" _

"_I-um…" Mafalda Hopkirk was speechless, but the tears in Katie's eyes swayed her. "Of course."_

"_Draco." Katie tried being polite, strode towards him and stopped in front of him. _

"_What do you want, mudblood?" He spat, and she closed her eyes, tears falling from her cheeks. _

"_Do you remember, on the night of the Battle, Augustus Rookwood stood beside you and sent Dark Fire spiralling towards a witch holding up a shield, protecting the-"_

"_Yes, I remember her. She must have been a strong witch; I respected her wand work, blah-blah-fucking-blah. Didn't she die?" He said flippantly. "Protecting blood traitors… don't doubt she deserved it." _

"_She didn't die, Malfoy." She pulled up her shirt and he recoiled at the mess of burns and scars. "She's standing right in front of you." _

"_I-"_

"_There are more, if you want to see them." She swallowed, "You think I deserved to die for protecting the people I love?" The tears were there in her eyes, but Malfoy was transfixed by the silvery scars, his expression repulsed. _

_I think George and I were the only two people in the world who weren't afraid of the vision of her body. She was beautiful to me, no matter what state she was in, and though I had only been lucky enough to see her in that state of undress five times, four of them by accident, one the day after I had brought her home, I knew that I loved her more for who she was, even if she hated herself. _

"_Malfoy, you tried to kill me, and then you watched a grown man fight a nineteen year old girl whose back was turned. You have the nerve to tell me that I deserved to die." _

_She turned away from him, silent tears burning down her cheeks. I rose from the floor and ran to her, even though she couldn't see me, even though she couldn't feel me there, as she sat down, leaned forward, I wrapped my arms around her and held her, feeling tears burning at my throat as well. _

"_Thank you, Miss Bell." Witness dismissed. Katie made her way back to Percy and sat down next to him, still crying, silent, broken and unable to process it. Everyone bar Malfoy and his guards left the courtroom before she did, Percy eventually pulling her from the room. _

_She stepped up the stairs and turned as she heard the clanking of a chain, as Malfoy was being taken back to the holding cells. _

"_Deserved to die." He repeated angrily, the words bouncing from the walls as he shouted aloud. "Mudblood, protecting blood traitors. Wish you'd died the first time I'd tried." _

_She looked up at him as he was dragged away, everything a picture of defiance but her tears._

"_You know," She said to herself, even though I had run up the stairs to stand facing her, "If it weren't for Fred, I'd wish I was dead too."_

_As the oak door hid Malfoy from view, and Percy and her were the only two left in the room, her defiant façade broke down and she burst into tears. My brother looked at her, opened his mouth to speak, before she shook her head, whispered a "thank you" and ran past him. _

_-xx-_

The memory fizzled out, and I felt myself being transported back to the kitchen of our flat. There was no noise as I sat there, digesting what I had seen and trying to banish all the tears that wouldn't stop dripping from my eyes.

_Katie never, ever deserved this. _

_She didn't deserve the pain._

_She didn't deserve the fear._

_She didn't deserve to die. _

I breathed out and the words became a fucking heartbeat in my brain. _She didn't deserve this. _She needed to know.

"Katie?!" I shouted at the bathroom door, "Are you still in there?"

"No." Her quiet voice, hoarse from crying, made me leap about a foot in the air as she spoke from behind me.

"Holy fuck!"

"Thank you." She mock bowed, all wrapped up in a dark red fluffy towel that stopped mid-thigh. Her hair was wild, towel dried but beautifully wavy, and her scar, up and around her neck, almost a tattoo on her body. It looked strangely striking, her pale skin flushed from the shower, but the scars drained of colour almost shone.

She frowned slightly as she looked at me closer. She could see the blotches on my nose, hiding under my freckles. _She didn't deserve this._

"You alright Fred?"

"Katie?" She knew I had been crying. "Katie, everything he said, everything… all the insinuations, all of that shit…"

She turned away from me, breathing out, then in, then looking back at me, a striking blush on her cheeks and tears in her eyes.

_Step forward. Touch her cheek. Wrap your arms around her. Move. _

Move.

_Move._

_**Move.**_

"Fred?" I think I looked like an idiot, because my mouth was open, my eyes were unfocussed, but I was staring at her. "Say something."

"I love you." I spluttered, saying the first thing that came through my mind dressed as Harry Potter, doing the Robot and looking Uber-Cool. _Yeah, um, 'scuse me brain? Not so cool out loud…_

"Fred," She started, jerking me back to reality.

_**Move.**_

"No, Katie." I found my fingertips pressing against her lips shut her up quite effectively. "You really need to listen to me." She swallowed and cleared her throat.

"Can we at least go into my room?" She tilted her head, "George and Angelina could be back any time. I don't want to be crying in front of them." _She didn't deserve this._

I nodded and followed her into her room. She told me to cover my eyes as she pulled on some underwear, but, as she pulled on her pyjama bottoms, I opened my eyes and looked at her. The scars were there, but as I watched her watching me, I found I really didn't give a toss. They were her. They were part of what I wanted.

_She didn't fucking deserve this._

"Katie." She sat down on her bed beside me and watched me for a minute. "I respect everything you've been through today, and I respect your opinion. But you're wrong."

"Sorry?" She frowned slightly.

"If it weren't for me, you say you'd wish you were dead. Are you mad? Because I genuinely don't understand you." She frowned again, running her fingers up her own forearm. I quickly took her hand and replaced it with my own. "If it weren't for you, I'd _be_ dead." I said softly.

"I could say the same for you." She returned. "You've rescued me, you've offered me a job, somewhere to live," She looked away and leaned closer to me, I laid my finger across her lips again.

"Ah, but Katie, you've offered me someone I can trust, I can provide for, someone I can love-" I paused and very gently touched my lips to hers. She didn't pull away, but she didn't respond. "I-" I ducked my head, stood up, "That was way out of line and I shouldn't have said anything, or touched you like that without your permission."

_She doesn't deserve this._

As I spoke I kept backing away, looking right into her eyes but backing off and moving towards the door. I turned as I backed into the handle; sure I had given myself a huge bruise, and probably cut myself in the process.

I touched the handle, wrapped my hands around it.

_She doesn't deserve this._

"I think I love you." She said softly. I dropped the handle like it was made of boiling water and the bang of the lock clicking back into place made both of us let out stupid-teenage-girly screams.

I span around and looked at her, my mouth dropped open again.

"Sorry?" I think I spluttered it audibly, but it might have been incoherent.

"I think I love you." She whispered again. "You're always there for me. I always want to see you. I worry about you, because-" She stopped and looked at me for a long minute.

"What is it?" I frowned.

"You." She smiled, and two pearly tears dropped down her cheeks. "You…" She frowned again, "You look like that when you're sitting on the other sofa in the middle of the night."

"How the hell did you know that?" I asked, stunned.

"I woke up last night." She murmured. "Saw you sitting there." She shrugged.

"And you didn't speak to me?"

"Thought you were asleep. I never sat up or anything." She shrugged and swallowed, licking her lips. "I didn't want to risk waking you," She smiled, unleashing my own term of endearment upon my, "I… didn't want to disturb you, love."

I breathed out. It sounded so good on her lips.

She smiled and I crossed the room again, settling myself on her bed as she brushed through her hair and sighed, tears still dripping down her face.

"Katie, please, don't cry." I took her brush from her fingers - she had definitely finished her hair a long time ago - and wrapped my arms around her.

_She didn't deserve this. _

"Don't leave me tonight, Fred." I shook my head. I don't think she heard me murmur 'no', I barely breathed it into her ear, but she relaxed into my arms and started rubbing the only part of me she could reach without contortion - my knees.

_I couldn't help being Fred Weasley. And Fred Weasley saw unresolved sexual tension everywhere Katie Bell could be found. _

I sighed and gently kissed her neck, pulling lightly on her hair as I plaited it neatly. I might be goofy, pathetic and stupid, but I knew how to plait hair. I knew how to plait _her_ hair. She turned around and pulled me close, kissing me lightly on the nose and then pulled away and laid down on her bed, sighing.

"You'll stay?"

"Of course." I nodded and joined her, kissing the tip of her ear. She giggled and let me hold her tight. The room was glowing - it was nine at night in the middle of October, the room was dark but that damn glowstick was perfection. It kept the room light, glinting off the mirror and shining off the white-painted wardrobe.

"Thank you, Fred." I looked down at her as she relaxed onto my chest and sighed.

"For what, exactly?"

"To be honest with you?" She leaned up and touched her lips to my cheek, "For being perfection."

The beat in my brain changed as she gently touched her lips to mine.

_I did not deserve this. _

_**George **_

I waited until Angelina was in the bathroom, then I quickly ran to Katie's room to see if she was alright. I pushed her door open lightly, waited for it to swing open and was almost blinded by the blue glare that shone across the room.

I smiled as my eyes adjusted to the colour, blinking a couple of times to focus on the shapes currently occupying her bed.

Katie was curled up on Fred, his arms wrapped around her, more than half of her torso lying on top of him. Her hand was in his hair, pulling him down closer to her and she was smiling in her sleep. Fred had one arm around her shoulders, clinging to her with one arm as she was lying on top of him, stopping her from falling.

He was clearly either awake or merely dozing, because his other hand was tracing circles on the scars on her torso, her T-shirt raised slightly. He stopped suddenly, shifted his hand further across so his fingers were tracing the scars on her hip. She whimpered in her sleep and buried herself deeper into his arms.

In the glow of the tiny little lightstick that was sitting on the shelf above her bed, they looked happy and peaceful. Something I had really never seen from Fred at all.

_-------_

_**A/N: I ask for one thing. Review please my pretties! **_

_**This was a oneshot that's been plaguing me for a while. **_

_**PLEASE TO BE REVIEWING!! **_

_**Love ya**_

_**Xxx**_

_**I genuinely hope that you like the things that are currently seeping from my brain, and would love, love, love you to check out "Clocks" and "Flannel, Blood, Ink," Because there's a lil' contest going on in clocks, and Flannel, Blood, Ink deserves more recognition (Arrogant, ain't I?)**_


End file.
